Picturing Johnny Manziel In Philadelphia

The entire playbook would be available for Chip. A quarterback who could make plays with his legs, execute the read option and have the arm strength to make all of the throws. I’m sure Chip Kelly was drawing up some plays in that creative noggin of his during the Johnny Manziel pro day.

If only the teams in need of a quarterback failed to pull the trigger because of his size, off the field antics and the other question marks surrounding Manziel’s ability to translate his college accolades to the pro level. If only the option were to become available to the Eagles. If Pryor and Clinton-Dix were off the board, top linebackers gone, top four WR’s gone, but Mr. Manziel was there for the taking, what would the Eagles do?

Even with the recent success of a smaller quarterback in Russell Wilson, who is smaller than Manziel in both weight and height, the reckless style of Manziel will ultimately lead him to a similar path of our old friend Michael Vick. He will collect top ten honors on ESPN for his incredible throws, runs and “did you just see that” moments. His skill will allow coaches to do “different” things, and continue to bring some of the collegiate play calling to the Pro level. He will also take hits from bigger, stronger, faster and better skilled athletes who will send him “get well” cards after surgeries and IR List stints. His acrobatic throws will be batted down at the line of scrimmage or intercepted.

One must still wonder, even with all of the questions and attention that comes with Mr. Football, what if Manziel came to Philadelphia.

He would arguably be handed the league’s best collection of offensive weapons to compliment his skills, and a tremendous blocking group to keep him upright. A coach who would create plays so specific for his skillsets that the possibilities would be endless. Could it actually work, and would the fan base support it?

If Pete Carroll was able to make it work with Wilson, why couldn’t Chip do the same with Manziel? Sure Seattle had one of the top ten defenses of all time, but the Eagles don’t need for their defense to win them games, just to make enough plays.

The Philadelphia masses would go crazy if Manziel came to Philadelphia whether they supported it or hated the decision. It would send the hero of the 2013 season in Nick Foles packing, and we would be left to wonder if the 2014 season was “rebuilding” with starting a rookie quarterback.

Manziel would see some of the best defenses in the league in 2014, Seattle, SF, Arizona just to name a few. And for Foles, the questions of whether he could be a franchise quarterback would be left as answers for another NFL team.

To get Manziel, the Eagles would have to trade, and it would be a blockbuster that would never happen. It would have to be for the first overall pick, as the path the Jaguars, Vikings, Texans, Raiders and Browns take to get their new franchise quarterback is impossible to decode, we would need to draft Manziel with the first pick of the 2014 draft.

The Texans head coach wants a big quarterback who can make the throws and not turn over the football. Foster is coming off back surgery; and Tate exited for Cleveland. The offensive line has had their issues as of late.

The “fantasy” trade proposal

Texans- Send their 2014 1st and 5th round selections

Eagles- Send Foles, Bryce Brown, Evan Mathis, their 2014 1st round pick and a 2015 conditional pk (a 4th, 5th or 6th) based on production of Foles in 2014.